New Adventures
by TrainingPea
Summary: Julian and the Apprentice (Liviana) are trying to figure out how to deal with their new normal as they set sail in search of exotic creatures with Portia. Storms are coming, all that can be changed is how you weather them.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: For the purposes of this I have called the apprentice Liviana. Also sorry if anything I write is inaccurate, I have only played through the Julian story with the upright ending and relatively few extra scenes (to save coins). I'm also wanting to save keys for my play on Portia's story, so I'm not really wanting to replay chapters, so if details aren't on the wiki or in my memory I'm just making them up, sorry if I end up with canon contradictions!

Vesuvia docks, bustling as they were, shrank into the landscape of the coast as the sea wind pushed us further out to sea. Seabirds circled above and cawed out over the gentle hush of waves against the ship and there was a faint smell of salt on the air. I rested my elbows on the thick wooden rail and closed my eyes. It was calming and I felt the sounds of the sea and the gentle rocking of the ship lull me half to meditation. Serene as it was, there was still an energy in the air. Under my skin I could feel the gently prickling swell of magic, my own powers responding to the vast power of nature all around us. I wanted jointly to stay, eyes closed and basking in the warm air, but also to move, to run and act and explore the increasing depths beneath us.

A smile slowly spread across my face and from behind me I heard a creak of approaching footsteps. I turning to look at Julian as he perched himself on the edge of the ship, not seeming to mind there was only one poor balance between him and overboard. That sort of easy confidence would come to me eventually, I was sure. After all, Julian had spent years travelling by sea, I couldn't quite expect myself to acclimatise in just an hour or so.

"Feeling seasick yet?" He said, a playful twinkle in his eye. No, eyes. It had taken a moment for me to notice he had moved his eye patch up on to his forehead. It made sense, he had just been up in the rigging. As much as he liked to keep his right eye - the one stained red by plague all that time ago - hidden, that sort of work did call for depth perception.

"Not yet," I replied, "We'll see how long I can last."

Julian chuckled.

"You know, I actually think you might end up ok."

"You do?"

"Yeah. You don't carry yourself like it's your first time on a ship." He fixed me with a suspicious look that only familiarity betrayed as not real, "Assuming, of course, that you were telling me the truth about this being your first time."

"Of course I was telling the truth," I said, looking out again towards the Vesuvian coastline, now dwarfed by the vastness of the sea, "I do feel at home though. Part of me wonders why travelling never occurred to me before."

My attention was drawn back to Julian. He was drawing breaths and making short sounds like he was trying to find the words for something.

"I suppose," he eventually managed, "the last few months have had us - I mean I think we both have found things we never realised we wanted before."

He stared straight ahead of him, blushing a little, and I felt the touch of his fingers against mine. I turned so we were both facing the same direction and took his hand properly. We stayed quiet, enjoying the sea air and each others presence. The last month had been hectic. With me taking over sole running of the shop, Julian opening his practice after his official pardon, and countless other small tasks that needed done after our fight with The Devil, we hadn't had all that much time to just... be. Not to mention the constant feeling of eyes on us, and the discomfort that came from certain parts of the city realising that just they had cheered for the execution of an innocent man - one that would then go one to help save their lives no less - that had given a certain unease to our lives as we attempted to readjust to normality.

Put simply, we didn't know how to be normal yet. Our relationship had been forged in danger and sneaking around and now everything was safe we found ourselves lost.

I leaned into Julian and felt him relax a little. Across the deck I saw Portia discussing with the captain. Although her glee was evident in her eyes I could tell, even from a distance, that she was carrying herself with the sort of surety that commanded respect. She seemed to be taking to her new life of zoology and adventure like a duck to water and her own excitement for this trip had infused itself into the whole ship and her crew. Julian had chalked this up to her infectious smile and whilst I didn't think he was entirely wrong, I couldn't help feeling like there was something more lying underneath. I wondered what a magical education could do for her, if she wanted it.

"What do you think we'll find?" Julian said, breaking the silence.

"If Portia's right, hopefully a-" my mind went blank, "a - um- what was the name again?"

"Gold Crested Lillybird."

"Lillybird! Yes!" I remembered the drawings she had shown us of the bird, a graceful thing with long flowing tail feathers, "I hope it's as big as she thinks it is. That will be magnificent."

"Personally I just hope it's less hostile. I don't want her eye pecked out on her first trip."

"She'll be careful, you know Portia."

"I do," Julian looked at me and pulled his eyepatch back in place, grinning widely, "That's what's worrying me."

He pushed himself up and turned to me.

"I don't suppose," he said, "that you've had a chance to visit our cabin yet?"

I recognised that mischievous twinkle in his eye.

"I don't actually think I have."

With a theatrical flourish he offered me his hand. I took it in mine and allowed him to lead me below deck.

The decision for Julian and I to share a cabin had been made as much out of practicality as out of desire. A small ship like the one that we were using had a limited amount of space and so any excuse to cut down on the space needed was welcome. Looking around the cramped room I guessed it was not one built for a double bed as there was barely a foot of clearance between it and the side walls. At the foot of the bed there was a little more room, allowing the door to open fully and just enough space for our small trunks, lifted up on low tables so that the tops could serve a dual function as a desk. A small porthole allowed some sunlight in, but the cabin was mostly lit by a lamp hanging from a hook on the ceiling.

Julian sat on the bed, leaning back on to his elbows. Now that we were alone most of his nervousness had melted away and he gave the space next to him two light pats.

"What? No grand tour?"

Julian looked at me for a moment, trying to figure out if I was joking. With a playful sigh he stood up, and stood next to me with one hand on my waist. He pointed to each part of the room in turn.

"In that case, allow me to show you the door, the window - complete with a beautiful view of endless water - our trunks which at this point I would hope you'd recognise, and last but not least, the bed," he finished decisively, then, with flirting sarcasm, he continued, "I know it's a lot to take in, but I'm sure you'll remember it all eventually."

"You forgot my favourite part though." I replied, combating his sarcasm with an ironic earnestness. It seemed to throw him off for a moment.

"Your favourite part?" He asked, looking around the room, "Love, I don't think there's much else here."

"I can't believe you didn't mention my favourite thing in my room. I thought you knew me well."

"I- I don't-" His confusion turned into guilt and I immediately felt bad. I had probably taken that too far.

"I was talking about you, Julian." I slipped my arms around his waist and faced him completely. I felt him release an anxious breath he had been holding.

"You worried me there," he cupped his hand on my cheek.

Instead of answering, I went on to tiptoes to plant a quick kiss on his lips. He smiled widely and leaned down to kiss me again. This one was a firm, lingering kiss and his other hand pressed onto the small of my back pulling me close against him. The world seemed to freeze around us, that one moment stretching out. We barely moved, just breathed and enjoyed each other's closeness.

All of a sudden the moment moved on and the world started again. Julian broke the kiss and pulled away ever so slightly. Barely a breath passed and he was kissing me again with a frantic passionate energy that I matched in turn. The force for the kiss made me take a step backwards without thinking and I lost my balance against the edge of the bed. Julian steadied me with the hand on my back and lowered me down to the sheets.

The hand on my cheek moved up as Julian tangled it into my hair. I grab handfuls of his loose white shirt to hold on to him tightly as he climbed up on the bed. One of his legs pressed between mine and his free hand snuck up under my shirt. I kissed along his jaw and down his neck, feeling his breath catch as I did and his hand clench a little in my hair, tugging gently.

Just as his fingers brushed against my breast there was a loud knock at the door, making us both jump violently.

"Livi, Ilya! You busy?" Portia's voice called, muffled slightly by the door.

Julian closed his eyes and took a slow deep breath to steady himself. With visible reluctance he pushed himself up to sitting and replied.

"What can we do for you Pasha?"

"When the two of you are done… settling in," she was smirking behind the door, I just knew it, "Can we get you guys in the bridge? And Livi, bring the cards."

"Roger that Portia," I replied.

As Portia's footsteps faded away I made to get off the bed. Before I could stand up Julian snaked an arm around me and held me against him, burying his face into the crook of my neck.

"Just a little minute longer," he said, "Pasha can wait."

With one hand I gently stroked his hair, allowing our moment of privacy linger just a little more. Eventually though, it had to end. I stood up and retrieved my tarot deck from my trunk. Julian sat where he was, watching me. There was a tension in the air that made me suspect there was something he wanted to say. Sure enough, after a long expectant moment, he spoke.

"Livi," he said, slow and deliberate, "do you still love me?"

I didn't know what I expect him to say, but it certainly wasn't that. It took me a second to even process the question I was being asked.

"Of course I do!" I replied, "What makes you say that?"

"I don't know," he wasn't looking me in the eye, once he started speaking though everything came out in quick succession, "I suppose I was never really accustomed to… romantic relationships. And then ours began in secret, and in danger. Now everything is normal but I don't really know what 'normal' is anymore and I don't really know how to be in a normal relationship and I'm worried that you won't know how to be with me normally either. I- I just worry that… that now I'm not a project or - or a puzzle…"

He trailed off. This was obviously not something that had just occurred to him.

"Julian," I began, "How long has this been worrying you?"

He snorted out a humourless laugh.

"About a month."

"So the whole time?"

"If you wanted to put it that way."

I sat down next to him on the bed and placed my hand on the side of his face. His eyes met mine and I could see the fear in them.

"I love you, Julian. So much." I brushed my thumb over his lips, "Yeah, maybe we are still figuring out how this whole thing works but underneath all the changes I still love you."

Lightly, so that we barely touched, I kissed him. I felt his lips twitch into a smile as his kissed me back. Before we could get carried away again I pulled back and looked into his eyes again. I couldn't tell if all the fear was gone, but he seemed more at ease.

"I love you too."

"Shall we go and see what Portia needs?"

Julian nodded and stood to follow me up to the bridge.

When we entered Portia was leaning over a map laid out on a large table, deep in conversation with the captain. She was pointing instantly at a particular spot whilst the captain stood straight, his hands behind his back.

"- So I was thinking that if we were able to find the time and the weather was kind, we could get to this one too. It's not been explored yet so who knows what kind of things we will find."

"I'm happy to try, but I would like to advise caution on approaching a wholly new island on a tight schedule."

"Yeah, of course, I hear you. I just wanted to-" Portia looked up and caught my eye, "Livi! Ilya! Come in, make yourself at home."

Julian sat down in a chair next to the table and looked around the room with idle curiosity, whilst I stepped forward for a closer look at the map. I could see Vesuvia, rendered in minute detail, then moving out from the coast detail began to drop away until the map got to the area Portia was indicating, where islands were only noted with vague outlines.

"Captain Barnum," Portia continued, "I would like you to meet my brother, Julian, and my friend, Liviana. Julian is a very skilled doctor, and Livi-"

"Is the magician, yes?" finished Captain Barnum. He extended a hand, which I shook. Whilst not exactly hostile, his tone was still far from welcoming.

"That's me," I said, "Happy to help in any way I can."

"I appreciate the offer, but I hope you understand that having you on my ship was not my choice."

I was not expecting that level of uncomfortable honesty. Looking at Portia, she looked as uncomfortable as me at his comment.

"I… Um," I began.

"I'm sorry," Captain Barnum gave a small smile as he continued, "I don't mean that you are not welcome on my ship. But the ocean has its own power that city magicians seldom understand. I'm not sure how useful your skills will be to us."

"Maybe we can start to find out," said Portia, "Livi, you brought your cards, didn't you?"

"I did."

"Then maybe you could give a quick reading."

"For who?"

"For the whole journey."

I looked at the captain, he considered for a moment and nodded slightly, indicating for me to place my cards on the table. After a quick shuffle I put down the deck and put my hand over it. My eyes closed I opened my mind to the aura of everyone on the ship, to the vast primal power all around, to the arcana themselves. Allowing myself to be guided I cut the deck and took the card that was speaking to me. I flipped it on to the table and stopped when I saw what was drawn on it; a lightning bolt striking a stone structure.

"I don't like the look on your face there," said Julian, leaning forward to see the card. I realised I had been frowning. "It's not the Devil again?"

"No, not the Devil. This is the Tower."

Julian didn't seem much happier at that, no doubt remembering the time we were trapped in the Tower's realm.

"Is the Tower bad?" asked Portia.

"No, not quite. You don't really get cards that are simply good or bad, it doesn't really work like that," I explained, "The Tower can mean unexpected or unwelcome change, chaos and destruction, or it can mean revelations or awakenings."

"And which is it in this case?" asked Captain Barnum. I held the card and tried to tune in to what the Tower was telling me. This particular arcana, unsurprisingly, wasn't partial to giving specifics.

"In this case, I think it means we can't take anything for granted. Something is going to change, and it's going to change fast and it's going to change a lot," I looked around the room, "We have to expect the unexpected, and maybe even prepare for disaster."

The room was quiet for a long moment, all faces trying to disguise their concern, to varying success, as we looked between each other. I tried to catch Julian's eye, but he wouldn't hold my gaze.

"How do we expect the unexpected…?" asked Portia.

"We do it," said the captain, "by having lifeboats at the ready, and by having the crew on storm alert."

I looked at him in surprise.

"I thought you didn't believe this would be useful?"

"I don't," he said frankly, "but when you are in the middle of the ocean, miles from land, let alone food and civilisation, you err on the side of caution."

"Thanks, I appreciate it."

"I'm not doing this to please you," he said, not necessarily unkindly, "I'm doing this to keep my crew alive. If you'll excuse me, I'll organise the preparations."

With a nod to Portia and Julian, Captain Barnum left the room. Once the door closed, there was silence. I looked out the window and, for just a moment, I thought I saw a single black cloud in an otherwise clear blue sky. The next second it was gone. Maybe it would be best not to dwell on that too much.


	2. Chapter 2

My days on the ship turned out to be far busier than I had expected. Whilst my official capacity on board was as a magician, in reality the majority of my time was spent on small tasks to keep everything running smoothly. Not being experienced in sailing, these were usually along the lines of helping in the galley to prepare food, making minor repairs or just keeping the whole place clean. Initially I did try to speed some of these jobs along with magic but quickly found that it was not just the captain who was sceptical of what I do. For the sake of harmony I decided to do as much manually as possible. In addition to the general tasks that needed to be done, my evenings were spent with Portia, going over the research she had gathered in preparation for our landing.

Julian found himself even busier. Between his duties as a doctor, which to him not only included the treating of the minor injuries of the crew but also ensuring that the ship in general was safe, and his day to day tasks up in the rigging we would only manage to glimpse each other from afar during the day.

It was lovely to watch. His movements, as he would climb up the ropes to whichever fix or maintenance needed to be done, were natural and practiced. When he was working on deck, I was able to see him, see the way his brow furrowed as he concentrated. Soon I started to notice his little habits, how he would circle his thumb and index finger together when he was examining something, how his leg would bounce slightly when he was thinking.

Despite only rarely being out of each others sight for more than an hour or so, we were both so busy with our respective jobs that when we would finally collapse into bed at night it felt like we hadn't seen each other in days. Those nights, too tired to even talk we would curl up into each other and drop into sleep like a rock into a pond.

We had been at sea for three weeks when the storm came.

It came at night, after Julian and I had gone to sleep, exhausted from the day. A sound like a landslide, seemingly coming on in only an instant. My heart hammered in my chest, and I looked at Julian. There was a concern in his eyes and I don't know if he had the same feeling as I did, or if he was just reflecting my own worry back at me. Something felt wrong in the air and I could feel the silent presence of the Tower in the back of my head. The moment stretched out as we stared at each other, broken once we heard feet storming past our door up to the deck. Snapped back to reality, there was only one thing to do, magical or not this was a nasty storm and that meant we needed to help.

Julian didn't bother to get fully dressed, only pulling on his heavy coat over his bed cloths and sliding bare feet into his boots before running out of the door. I took my lead from him and did the same, pausing for a second as I followed him out. Without fully knowing why, I slipped my card pouch into my inner breast pocket.

Out on the deck, I wasn't able to immediately process what I was seeing. Instead of just the rain I was expecting, there was also what looked like large white marbles striking the wood floor and bouncing up. One struck me painfully on the cheek the moment I stepped out into the pandemonium, cold and hard, and I realised that I was looking at a storm of hail stones.

"Never seen hail before?" Julian shouted over the din of weather and other sailors, he was standing at a crate and I hurried to help him carry it to where another two crew members were relaying things below deck.

"I have!" I shouted back. The deck was flooded with a bright flash from above and less than a second later a deafening crash of thunder followed. "Just nothing like _this_."

We passed the crate to the crew members, and we made a beeline for a cluster of barrels. The ship hit a wave and the deck tilted sharply, making me stumble. Julian grabbed my arm to steady me and I found my footing again. A rush of wind seemed to ease the hail for just a moment, replacing it with a torrential rain that seemed to be coming in horizontally.

I could barely see through the rain and the wind bit into my throat making it difficult to breath. All I could do was focus on the task at hand. Moving quickly, first with the barrels, then with ropes to secure what couldn't be moved. The rain and hail came in alternating waves. In the confusion of wind and flashes of lightning I caught glimpses of Portia, arms full of lanterns to take safely inside; sure footed Mazelinka, checking the lifeboats; Captain Barnum, coordinating his crew on their tasks. All the time I tried to keep my eyes on Julian, he was serious yes, his jaw set, but he seemed calm and so I was able to keep myself from panicking at the maelstrom that seemed to be occurring all around us.

A sharp rip came from high above us, only barely audible over the wind, and Julian froze. He all but dropped his end of the barrel we were carrying as he peered up to where the noise came from. My heart stopped when I saw his reaction to what he saw.

"What's happened?" I asked.

"The sail," He took a coil of rope and slung it across himself, "something come undone, and the sail's weak from the storm, it's starting to rip."

He ran off towards the netting that would take him up towards the rigging.

"Where are you going?" I shouted, panicked. He stopped reluctantly.

"I need to go up there and secure it, or we'll lose the sail."

"You can't go up there. There's lightning and the masts are the tallest things for miles. You'll be fried."

"I don't have time for this right now, Livi!"

"It's not safe."

"No! It's not! But if it doesn't happen we lose the sail, or worse. If the sail or ropes fall someone will get hurt, or worse. So please let me do my job."

"For the love of peace, Julian!" I shouted in frustration, "For once will you please not try to martyr yourself."

Julian froze, his face hardening. He took a step closer to me.

"I'm not being a martyr, I'm being a _doctor_," he snapped. There was venom in his voice that startled me, "My _job_ is to safeguard every life on this ship any way I can and right now that is by securing that sail. Because I'm the one who sees it needs done. And I'm the one who knows how."

"Tell me how," I said, grabbing his arm to stop him running off, "I can use magic-"

"And waste precious seconds explaining to you something I already know how to do, just so you can feel like you've saved me from myself."

"But-"

"No!" He jerked his arm out of my grip and took a step back, "No buts. I have _never_ let you down. So why do you insist on acting like I do? I need you, just once, to actually trust me."

"I do trust you," my voice was small, but somehow he still heard over the roaring wind and pelting hail. For a moment I could see, in the slightest softening of his expression, the hurt his hardness was hiding.

"I don't think that's true."

He turned to walk away, but before he had made it five steps there was an earsplitting rip. The next few moments became a confusing blur. The rope had come fully loose and taken a large piece of the sail with it. Vaguely I heard my name shouted as a blur of rigging and fabric swung down towards me. There was no time to react before it smashed into me, too sudden and surprising to hurt, and I fell back. The back of my legs hit into the wooden rail at the edge of the ship but the momentum of the rope kept on and so over the edge I went.

Wildly, blindly, I threw out my hands for some kind of stability and by some miracle caught something. Or, as I realised, something caught me. A hand gripped around my forearm as I hung off the side and, peering up through the rain, hail, and blood that was dripping down from where the rope hit my forehead I saw Julian leaning over the rail. His face was strained with effort as he tried to hold on to me. My feet kicked for purchase on the hull but couldn't find any grip on the rain soaked wood. My panicked movements worked against me and I slipped down, Julian's grip ending up around my wrist, then down to just my hand.

It was the storm. Our skin was too wet, Julian's grip wouldn't last. Wind howled in my ears and whipped my hair and clothes around me. With my free hand I tried to reach up towards him as he strained to keep his grip. He was leaning dangerously far over the edge and, in the midst of the chaos I felt a wave of calm come over me. Julian, with one last burst of effort, attempted to haul me back on board but as he moved my fingers slipped through his.

With only a second to form a plan as I plunged towards the water, I did the first thing that came to me. I focused my magic on trying to cushion myself with a sphere of warm air. This sphere shattered almost immediately, but it did seem to serve to break my fall just enough that my bones didn't shatter on impact. Even with this cushioning the water was still hard as a rock on impact, the back of my head hitting with a dizzying pain and giving me just a few moments to find the closest floating debris to hold on to before the confusion faded into darkness.

A/N: Hope you've enjoyed chapter two! I'm having lots of fun writing it. I would love to hear from anyone who's liking it. ~TrainingPea


	3. Chapter 3

Nothingness solidified around me. It didn't exactly become anything but the void of unconsciousness ebbed away leaving me acutely aware of the vast expanse of emptiness around me. I blinked a few times, shaking my head in an attempt to dislodge the drowsiness I felt. The space around me seemed serene as I floated, unsure if I was moving or stationary from the lack of features to orient myself by.

There was an itch, somewhere in the back of my head, that something should be alarming me, but it seemed dampened, like shouting through a pillow. Something was wrong, it was telling me, but I couldn't process what. Idly curious about where I was, I began to try and think about where I had been. I had been at my shop, that seemed normal enough, then… then I had left. Got on a ship. A hazy smile played on my lips, that must have been exciting. We'd sailed for weeks, we'd studied, planned and then-

A storm.

Vague, misty memories snapped painfully into focus. The storm. The fight. The fall. I had gone overboard. I was overboard. I was drowning.

I gasped for breath that wouldn't come, my hands at my throat and my eyes closed against the sting of salt water. The world started to fade around me again, not calmly this time, this time it was fading into a senseless chaos. I couldn't die here. I wouldn't. There had to be something I could do, but I didn't know what. I didn't even know which way way up. I cast my mind out, using the last of my energy to search for something, anything, to use as a lifeline. A faint glimmer, almost nothing, answered. With no other option I focused on it, took a hold and _pulled_.

Gravity became real again and I fell to my knees with a painful thud. I pulled air into my lungs in sharp gasps. I could breathe again. Thank the heavens I could breathe again. The sudden rush of air made me dizzy and I collapsed over onto my side, coughing and heaving up seawater. I was sodden, shivering and weak, but I was alive. I lay there, panting and too exhausted to move, I don't know how long for.

Excruciatingly slowly, I felt my strength return. Not nearly as much as I would have liked, but enough to push myself up to sitting and look around. I was still in a dark expanse but this one. This one was familiar. I could barely believe my eyes. All around me were distant stars and swirling clouds, underneath me a path made of solid starlight. Somehow I managed to pull myself into the space between realms. Better than drowning, at least, but still not good. I would have to find a way out quickly. This was not a safe place to stay for too long.

I looked at the stars above me, each their own realm. Maybe if I could reach one I could call for help and stay safe until… until what? Rescue? Contact? I wasn't sure, but it was something at least. My head ached, the cut on my forehead throbbing and making it difficult to think clearly. I didn't know how to get from there to any of the other realms at the best of times, let alone drained as I was. I couldn't do it on my own, what I needed was-

I heard a soft "arf" from behind me.

"Scout!" I said, relief flooding through me. I climbed unsteadily to dangerously unsteady feet and turned to see her standing a short way behind me, her ears perked up in curiosity. I took a couple steps towards her, "Scout, thank goodness. I need your help. I need to get somewhere safe, I was at sea-"

Scout nodded. I got the feeling I was telling her things she already knew.

"I need to get to the Magicians realm. I might be able to contact Asra from there. Can you take me?"

She seemed reluctant to meet my eye and my hope began to ebb away. Eventually she shook her head.

"Why not?"

After a moment of thought she put her paws in front of her and moved them apart.

"To far away?" I asked. Scout nodded, "How can we be too far from the Magician's realm? Distance barely exists here and we were only a few weeks out."

I tried to wrap my head around what was happening. I knew Asra had come to the realms from much further away than we were. It didn't make sense that I was too far. At least, it wouldn't make sense, I thought with growing dread, if I assumed that "too far" was measured only in miles. No, it was a different kind of distance.

"Is that why my magic hasn't come back? Normally it would restore by itself but I've been here for hours and nothing."

Scout shrugged. It didn't bode well if even Scout didn't know what was happening. Looking closer at here there was a fatigue I hadn't noticed before. Her fur was messy and knotted and she was leaning heavily on her staff with both paws. However she got here, it wasn't easy.

"What should I do?" I asked, as much to myself as to Scout. I had hoped to sound strong, but hearing my own words I just sounded like a lost, frightened child.

She motioned me to follow her and started trudging away, a slight limp evident in her step. We didn't go far and when she stopped I thought for a moment she was only pausing for breath. She took a tentative step towards the edge of the path and looked over. Following suit I saw a patch of the sky below that rippled and swirled. I looked at Scout.

"Please tell me I don't need to go down there."

She nodded.

"Will I be safe there?"

No reply.

"Safer than here?"

Nod. I looked back at the portal, sceptical. What choice did I really have?

"Are you able to get back to the other realms?"

Nod.

"Go to the Magician's realm and try to find Asra. He'll know what to do."

Scout nodded, and stepped back. With one last look at her for encouragement I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and stepped off the path.

Cold water hit me like a slap in the face but before I had a moment to even fear drowning for a second time my momentum pushed me through the water's surface and spat me out on to bed of sand and sharp pebbles that scratched my skin. Wiping strands of soaking hair from my face, I pushed myself up to my knees to see where I had found myself this time. Stretched out in front of me was a short stoney beach turning into a town, dark and silent. In the distance the town stretched up a mountain, and a point of bright blue light shone from somewhere about half way up.

I was definitely back in my own world, not in any of the magical realms. Although I could never properly articulate the difference, it was definitely there, like knowing that you're not in a dream. Real as my surroundings were, however, there was something distinctly not right. For one thing the town, whilst dark, was not the pitch black it seemed it should be. There were no fires or torches, and no visible moon, but still there was a faint light that permeated the whole place. For another, as I had realised before in the place between realms, my magic wasn't returning. As much as I may have used, I would expect to have regained at least a little by now. I felt its absence like a hole in my stomach, I had become so used to always having it their, drawing on it in little ways that I barely noticed until it was gone. There was fumes of it, maybe enough for a light if I really needed one but not much besides.

Despite my lack, the air around me was buzzing with power, raw energy that ebbed and dipped like the wind. Staggeringly potent and yet I was utterly unable to tap into it. Dying of thirst in the middle of the ocean. I turned to look out at the sea in a vain hope that I might be able to spy something familiar on the horizon.

There was no horizon.

Where the beach should have met the ocean there was instead a colossal wall of water, its surface rippled and waved and vague forms of huge fish glided past, not sparing any interest to impossibility of the water's surface. Looking upward, the wall extended dizzyingly high above me and curved around to form what I had assumed was the sky, to each side it matched the curves of the coastline until it faded into darkness or distance. The air around me was suddenly claustrophobic, precarious. Knowing now that I was standing inside a colossal bubble on the ocean floor I felt like it might burst at any moment, washing me away to drown like I should have done hours ago. I needed to get out of there, and fast.

Half remembered instructions for portals swam about in my head. They were tricky over short distances, even with someone on the other end, and over long distances without a partner they were nearly impossible. Nearly.

I backed slowly away from the water. In spite of it evidently being able to handle a full person breaking through without bursting, I was still afraid that the shifting of the rocks underfoot would shatter it.

A portal was my best bet to get out, my only bet truth be told, but they required huge amounts of power. Amounts I simply did not have. Before anything could be done to actually escape, I would need a way to restore my magic. Up on the mountain beyond the silent town, the blue light once again caught my eye. It could be magic, or it could simply be other people, either way it seemed like it was where I should be heading. Once I had a plan I felt slightly better, the fear was still there but the hopelessness had drained a little. It wasn't going to be easy, but it might be possible.

Against the protests of my exhausted and aching body, I began my hike.

My footsteps echoed through the deserted streets, the only sound to be heard in the silence. As wildly active as the magic there may have been, the air was still. No wind, no movement. There was an unpleasant, damp staleness that lingered uncomfortably in my nose. Dark doorways passed by on both sides, at once tempting and threatening.

A pile of something outside one of those doorways caught my attention. At first they seemed like unusually regular pebbles stacked into a pyramid but looking closer they were actually small metal spheres. Only the size of the last part of my thumb, they were perfectly round and a deep red. The lowest levels of the neat stack were contained in a shallow tray. Out of curiosity I plucked up the topmost marble and a jolt of power nearly made me drop it. Concentrated magic radiated from it but, as I was beginning to expect, when I tried to reach out and tap into it myself I found nothing. After the initial surprise, it registered just how heavy it was, far heavier than I would have expected. As I slipped it into my pocket, something else caught my eye from inside. Something that sparkled faintly in the low blue light.

After a moment of hesitation, I crossed the threshold. My eyes took time to adjust, revealing as they did a simple one room house. It was old, the cooking pots and various containers that were strewn near the fireplace looked more like illustrations from a history book than something I would have in my home, and from the thick layer of dust and debris had not been touched in a long time. It was what lay in the far corner, the thing that attracted me in the first place, that froze me in my tracks. Low, carved stone in the vague shape of a person lying on their back, painted in blue and gold and covered in writing in a language I couldn't read. On the carved head, a face was painted, staring straight up with a serene smile on their face. All around the edge, a slight seam was visible. A sarcophagus, lying in the middle of an abandoned house. I backed out of the door, unsettled and hurried further up the street.

As I passed the next entryway, I reluctantly peeked inside. Sure enough there was another in that house too. And one in the next. And the next. Soon I had seen enough to confidently say that each house contained at least one of these ornate coffins. The knowledge made me paranoid and as I continued up the hill towards the bright blue light I found myself glancing over my shoulder every few steps, uncomfortable in that dead town and no longer sure I was heading towards the safest point.

But what other choice did I have?


	4. Chapter 4

[A/N Content Warning: This chapter contains semi-graphic injury depiction, and claustraphobic situations. If that bothers you, then you might want to turn away.]

As my path up the mountain grew steeper, I was forced to lean heavily on a staff I had reluctantly taken from outside one of those silent buildings. I did my best to commit its position to memory so that I could return it later, repeating identifying features to myself as a sort of mantra to distract from the ache in my legs. _Across from the well, under the tree, facing away from the shore_. Was it just exhaustion or, somewhere in the events of the night had I actually hurt myself? _Across from the well, under the tree, facing away from the shore. _It was a stupid question, thinking about it, there had definitely been injuries. My head still throbbed from where it had been hit and there was a tightness on my face where the blood had dried, my shoulder smarted from hitting the water and the ground and my lungs stung with each breath from the salt water. The way my legs buckled with each step however didn't seem to match with any of the ways I had been thrown about. _Across from the well, under the tree, facing away from the shore. _I almost found myself wanting it to be an injury. I didn't want to admit to myself that this was how my body behaved without the unconscious use of magic I had become used to. _Across from the well, under the tree, facing away from the shore. _I felt empty, but not a clean emptiness. This was ragged and consuming, like a breath pushed out too far. The kind of emptiness that didn't allow for rest or inaction, no matter how exhausted I found myself. It was difficult to believe that a few hours ago I had been on the ship, it felt like months. _Across from the well, under the tree, facing away from the shore._ But no. Just a few short hours ago I had been safe and warm and (I felt dirty admitting to myself that this was something I valued) I had been powerful. And I had been with-

No.

_Across from the well, under the tree, facing away from the shore._

Not now. I was not going to think about. I couldn't think about.

_Across from the well, under the tree, facing away from the shore._

Julian.

_Across from the well, under the tree, facing away from the shore._

Memories of his face as he lost his grip and I fell cut into my thoughts. Images too of what might have come after. Flashes of lightning, a sinking ship, bodies in the water.

_Across from the well, under the tree, facing away from the shore._

I forced myself to repeat the mantra out loud to block them out. My voice was sandpaper on my throat and refused to raise above a whisper but I still spoke. Anything to avoid the silence that gave space for… those thoughts.

_Across from the well, under the tree, facing away from the shore._

_Across from the well, under the tree, facing away from the shore._

_Across from the well, under the tree, facing away from the shore._

The path up the hill was dusty, and strewn with loose rocks that threatened to trip me if I didn't pay attention. My boots, still wet from the ocean, rubbed on my feet and gave warning to the blisters I would find when I eventually would be forced to take a break. I would not rest there though. I couldn't let myself rest until I reached the light. Until I reached something. I didn't know what I might find at my destination, but at least it was something. When I got there I could sit and rest. Not a moment sooner.

Occasional rocks appeared by the side of the path at inviting heights. Just right to take a moment to sit and gather myself. I couldn't though. Once I sat down, I was sure of it, I wouldn't be able to force myself up again. My slow, shambling pace meant that it would take several minutes to pass one of these rocks once it would come into my sight and so to avoid the temptation I made plans. Or tried to make them at least, so much was unknown that I couldn't plan for many of the things I might find. If I found people, I could only hope they were friendly, as I lacked the strength to either fight or run, any item or power source I would have to evaluate as I found it.

Hopefully it would be something I could tap into and use to make a portal home. I walked myself through the steps in my head, this kind of magic was dangerous especially unplanned. I would practice the sigil before committing to the spell, but could only really hope I remembered it right. Ideally, I would want to make a portal to the ship, but that would be far too dangerous, it would have to be the shop back home. Further away, but a fixed location and one I was strongly connected too. From there I could talk to Nadia to help the others.

If there was nothing I would rest at the light, and then when I could head back to the empty city. Its silence unnerved me and I wouldn't linger there unless I had to. I would gather supplies and camp on the beach and then… Something. Sit and hope that Scout could reach Asra. Sit and hope there was anything Asra could do about it. Just… Sit and hope.

But it wouldn't come to that, I told myself, forcing one foot in front of the other. I had to hope. Through the limp, sickly trees that clung to the hillside the glow was growing stronger. I was nearly there.

The light was ebbing from a cave that sliced into the hillside. From my vantage point, lingering behind the sparse vegetation, I could only see one of the cave walls and not anything that might be inside. It would have to make do for me to figure out what I could before entering, as I was reluctant to press forward completely unprepared. The cave was definitely man made, the cuts in grey stone were far too neat and regular to be natural, which was promising. At some point people had been here. Veins of something dark red and glassy - or maybe metallic - flowed through the rock and almost glittered where the light hit it. The light itself wasn't constant. Though it didn't flicker, which ruled out a fire, it instead rippled on the wall, like a reflection from water. Calm and slow. I couldn't hear any sounds of waves. Any sounds of anything really. Up there carried the same unnatural quiet that had permeated the city below. Even the miniscule sounds of my foot on the ground, or my arm brushing against a branch seemed to scream uncomfortably into the night.

With great caution, I inched towards the caves opening. The hillside came into sharper focus as I drew closer, and it became apparent that the cuts were not only man made, but decorative. Particularly the veins of that red mineral, where the glittering effect came from intricate patterns chipped into the wall at different angles. These patterns weren't of anything - at least not anything I could identify - they were abstract, and captivating. They begged for a closer look, and before I had even realised I had done so, caution had been abandoned and I had fully entered the cave.

It was only when I was directly in front of the closest vein, the hand not supporting me on the staff reaching out to touch the art, that I realised with a stomach turning start how exposed I was.

I spun, my heart crashing about my ribcage, to face the cave as a whole and choked back a scream as I came face to face with a monster not five feet from me.

Backing slowly from it's snarling face, I brandished the staff in front of me. In more skilled hands I was sure it would be an effective weapon, but in mine it just felt woefully inadequate. I tensed, waiting for the right moment to break for it and test if I was capable of running, but knowing that even if my strength didn't fail me, I would be easily tracked in absolute silence.

Wait.

Silence?

The face was snarling, but there was no noise. No, not snarling exactly, it was frozen in a snarl. As my heart rate slowed, a bubble of hysterical laughter forced its way out of my throat. The monster was carved from the same grey rock of the cave walls; a gigantic dog, taller than me, sleek and mean and posed as if waiting to pounce. It's long muzzle, easily thicker than my leg, but thin in proportion to the rest of the beast, was wrinkled back to reveal thick teeth and the eyes, carved in that glistening red mineral, seemed both cruel and intelligent. I had to admire the artistry that had gone into such a statue, no matter how unnerving it was to look at. I stepped close enough to touch its surface, feeling how the rough stone had been worn smooth by extreme age.

Beyond the statue was the source of the rippling blue light. In the centre of a tall circular chamber, resting on a pedestal, was an orb roughly the width of my forearm. Some sort of mist or liquid deep inside swirled about, causing the irregular shadows on the wall. If nothing else, it was definitely magic.

Behind the orb, visible only after my eyes had adjusted to the bright light, were five stone thrones on a raised platform. On each sat a body so emaciated that for a moment I thought I was looking at five skeletons. It seemed unlikely to me that anyone so wasted away could still be alive, but regardless I kept moving forwards, calling out.

"Sorry to intrude," my voice was shaky, uncertain. It felt like a stupid thing to say. It felt stupid to say anything, "Can you hear me?"

With each step forward, I felt an increasing warmth in my coat pocket, the one where I had put the marble I found in the city, but before I could examine it further, I stumbled on a small raise in the floor running in a circle around the orb.

"Is anyone in here?" my voice echoed in the still air and the hairs on the back of my head stood up with static.

From the figure on the middle throne, an elderly man with wisps of long hair where he wasn't completely bald, and robes that might once have been bright and ornate that now hung - worn, tarnished and faded, off his thin body like a shroud, opened his eyes. His head moved stiffly on his neck as he gazed around him. Eventually he looked at me. Or at least, his face was in my direction. His mouth held a vague, tired smile and his eyes (kind as they were) were entirely unfocused.

"I am so sorry to have woken you child," he said. His voice was soft, even in the silence I had to strain to hear him, "It is too early yet."

"I don't know what you mean," I replied.

"It is too early. You must go back to sleep."

"Oh, I wasn't asleep. I was on a ship. There was an accident and I fell overboard and I was wondering if you could help me get back."

The old man laughed gently.

"My what a dream. But you must go back to sleep now."

"Sorry, I think you're misunderstanding. My name is Liviana, I'm a-" I stopped myself before I could say magician, remembering the captain's reaction on the ship. I didn't want to take any chances, "I'm from Vesuvia. I need to get home but I don't know how."

"That does sound troubling, child."

"It is," I said with relief.

"A child who cannot find her way home. I will have someone escort you."

"You can do that? I don't know how far I am from the ship, but we were three weeks out from Vesuvia when-"

"It is a bad habit to dwell on dreams."

"But you said you would escort me."

"I said you would be escorted home, but you must go straight back to sleep."

Something sank in my stomach. This was wrong. Everything about it was wrong.

"Actually, I think I should be able to make my own way just fine. Thank you for the offer. I'll leave you be now." I took a step backwards, gripping my staff tight to try and stop my hands from shaking.

"It's no trouble, child. You will be escorted," he made a tiny gesture with his hand and from behind me was a sickening grinding. He continued, his voice fading to nothing, "sleep well."

I didn't want to turn. I wanted to believe if I didn't turn and look that whatever was behind me didn't really exist. That the awful scraping sounds were just the wind. There was no wind here. For a split second, my feet refused the instruction to turn, but with insistence they retracted their roots and allowed me to move.

Once again I was met by the statue's snarling face. However this time I was not lucky enough that it was frozen and inanimate. Now it's jowls twitched as the mouth pulled back and it slowly advanced. I again brandished the staff, desperately trying to remember if I had ever actually seen anyone fight with one and trying to ignore the realities of trying to fight solid stone with a glorified stick.

I waited as it drew closer. It was big, and powerful, but it didn't look agile, at least not in this space. If I could get past it then the time it would take to turn might give me a precious few moments to get outside and into the dark. A long shot for sure, but I had precious few other options. I fought to keep my breathing steady as it drew closer, letting out a low grinding growl. Two more steps, I tensed my whole body in preparation, two more steps and I would go. One step. My body shook, wound tight and ready to go. The beast took a stone paw off the ground and the moment stretched out as it took that final step forward. Landing on the ground with a heavy crash.

As soon as it made contact I bolted forward, through the space between the hound and the wall. My legs felt soft and unsure and I couldn't build up speed, but I ran anyway dragging myself through the stagnant air. Behind me I heard the crack and scrap of the thing turning. I had been right about that much at least, it was a slow turner. If I could just make it to the mouth of the cave, I would take a sharp left and get into trees. I heard crashing as the things running sent rocks and pebbles flying. It was gaining on me. If I could just make it to the trees, they might cover me as I zig zagged to safety. I was mere feet from the cave mouth when I heard it leap.

The force of the solid rock crashing into my back sent me sprawling. Dazed, I turned and tried to focus on it as I scrambled backwards, but my vision was blurry and shifting so all I could see was a dark shape advancing. Desperate, I swung the staff at its head, but the wood exploded into useless splinters on impact and recoil on the end I was holding sent an unexpected sharp pain up my arm that made me drop it in surprise. The monster seemed only irritated by the hit and without hesitation bit down on my leg.

The whole world stopped. There was a sickening crunch as it clamped down, an explosion of pain that quickly made way for a deep agonising nausea. The world around me swam and my thoughts came to me in broken fragments. I could barely process what was happening as it began to drag me out the cave and down towards the city. The pain was so overwhelming that I found myself unable to move at all as I was pulled, limp and stunned, through the streets.

Vaguely, like I was seeing them through fog, I noticed familiar sights. A well across a courtyard, a large tree that may once have bared fruit. A house facing away from the sea. A house who's shadowed doorway I was being dragged towards.

A house with a coffin inside of it.

All at once the world became acutely real again. I clawed at the rocky ground, trying to gain some kind of purchase to stop this thing getting me inside. Small stones sliced at my fingers and pulled at my nails leaving smears of blood on the road. I yelled into the empty night for someone, anyone, who could stop this, far louder than my hoarse voice and damaged throat should have allowed. Yelling gave way to gasping tears as my grip on the doorframe of the house failed.

Still holding my leg firmly in its jaws, the monster used one front paw to lift the lid of the sarcophagus; its claws sinking into the stone like it was soft wood. In one swift motion it lifted me up and dumped me inside, sending up a cloud of dust I didn't want to think about. There was nothing else inside, and the impact of my back on stone winded me. Gasping for breath, all I could do was hold up my arms, weak and injured as they were, as if they might stop the lid from being set back in place. They did not. The lid fell with a heavy thump and the world went dark.

[A/N: So I'm not dead! Finally remembered this was a thing I enjoyed doing after completely forgetting for like seven months. Opps! Also opps at this stories genre. When I started this I fully intended for it to be mostly romance fluff with mild angst and… well. We can all see how that went. Ah well, hope you's are all enjoying it the way it's going. Would love feedback! And hopefully less than half a year before the next chapter this time]


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